High
on the Horse Industry
W ri t t e n b y : L a ura G ut s c h k e p h o t o s b y : arti e li mmer
U
ntil recently, Julie Bryant (B.S. in agricultural education / agricultural communications
’84) had not owned a horse in more than 20 years.
Even so, finding a more passionate advocate for
the equine industry than Bryant would be a challenge.
“ The outside of the
horse does some-
thing good for the
”
inside of a man.
-Roy Rogers
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“I know it sounds corny, but I really do believe in a quote from Will Rogers. He said something to the effect, ‘The outside of the horse does
something good for the inside of a man.’ It’s true.
It’s so true,” said Bryant, who lives in Aledo.
Shortly after graduating from Texas Tech, she
worked for 10 years with the Amarillo-based
American Quarter Horse Association as a writer
and later as executive director of its American
Quarter Horse Youth Association.
In 1995, Bryant was appointed director of
communications for the American Association
of Equine Practitioners in Lexington, Kentucky.
Three years later, she moved to Fort Worth to
serve as director of market development with the
American Paint Horse Association.
In January 2001, Bryant launched Latigo Associates, a consulting business that offers marketing, public relations, program development,
event management, strategic planning and other
business services to clients in the equine industry
and more recently the cattle industry.
“Julie is the ultimate bag of tricks. I constantly
try to mentor young women to be as versatile as
possible, and Julie is probably one of the most versatile women I know,” said Patti Colbert, executive director of the Mustang Heritage Foundation.
“She can do creative graphics to the written word
to people and events management to leadership
management and strategic planning facilitation.”
Colbert was executive director of the Texas
Quarter Horse Association when she met Bryant about 15 years ago. More recently, Colbert
hired Bryant as an industry liaison for the Extreme Mustang Makeover, an event sponsored
by the MHF in cooperation with the Bureau of
Land Management that paired 100 horse trainers
with 100 wild mustangs for 100 days of training
before competing for $25,000 in prize money on
Sept. 22, 2007, in Fort Worth.
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C areer highlights
1984 – Farm writer, Amarillo Globe-News
1985 – Writer, American Quarter Horse Association, Amarillo
•On the road about 160 days a year covering quarter horse events across the country
for the AQHA’s The American Quarter Horse
Journal.
1989 – Director of youth activities and the
American Quarter Horse Youth Association,
Amarillo
•Student membership grew from 13,000 to
33,000 during her tenure.
1995 – Director of communications, American Association of Equine Practitioners, Lexington, KY
•In managing the AAEP’s “On Call” program,
Bryant was present at the Kentucky Derby,
the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and
other major equine events to coordinate veterinary spokespersons for major networks.
1998 – Director of market development,
American Paint Horse Association, Fort
Worth
•Bryant’s duties included designing and
coordinating market research, evaluating
brand imaging and logo usage and designing promotional packages for each APHA
program.
2001 – President, Latigo Associates, Fort
Worth
•Clients include the Center for Equine
Business Studies at Texas A&M University,
United States Team Penning Association,
Cowboy Publishing Group (Quarter Horse
News), American Paint Horse Association
and International Stockmen’s Educational
Foundation.
Proactive S trategies
Breaking Out on Her Own
Bryant has developed a reputation for being
a trouble-shooter and change agent for associations and non-profit groups, helping them develop and launch proactive business strategies.
“I love seeing a light bulb go off in people’s
heads and having them come up with wacky
ideas that work,” Bryant said.
She fosters that freethinking through fun and
challenging team-building exercises. For example, last spring before leading a planning meeting with a horse association, Bryant had the participants meet a day early for a horseback riding
exercise that involved dividing them into teams
to sort cattle. They had to work together to meet
objectives by a specific time deadline.
The cooperation skills the participants developed during the exercise had a positive impact
on the subsequent planning meetings, Bryant
said.
Her passion for the equine industry is most
evident when she talks about the legislative pressures and public perception that it faces. She encourages people in the horse industry to become
proactive, progressive and politically savvy to advance their interests.
“The horse industry has to deal with people’s
emotions. People’s relationship with the horse is
an emotional one,” said Bryant.
While emotions can be beneficial, they also can
lead to public policy with adverse economic consequences. One solution is data-based information
that illustrates economic benefits and detriments
of any private business, association or public policy initiative. Bryant helps clients address such issues, and she also serves as industry liaison for the
Center for Equine Business Studies at Texas A&M
University. The relatively new center’s services
include providing economic information, hosting
economic summits for horse-related businesses
and conducting customized market surveys.
“On a rare occasion do I have a client who has
a plan, so the first step is to start at square one.
What are your goals, your objectives, your challenges? What is unique about you? What do you
really want to do? So many times, when you
don’t have that to guide you, you get pulled by
the agenda of the day,” Bryant said.
Starting any business is daunting, but especially for Bryant in January 2001 because she
was a single mother. But, that is precisely why
she did it.
Self-employment offered the flexibility of picking up her daughter after school and otherwise
“being there” for her, Bryant said. She made the
leap of faith after many prayers and the encouragement of friends and colleagues. She has since
remarried, and the blended family now includes
two girls and one son.
“I do this because it makes me a better mother.
If I have to do work from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. because earlier in the day I was there for my kids,
that’s OK,” Bryant said. “Before you do something, it’s hard. But afterward, it doesn’t seem
so. You discover there are people and resources
available to make it work. People inherently
want to give.”
love seeing a light
“ Ibulb
go off in people’s
heads and having them
come up with wacky
ideas that work
”
And, she advises students to tap into people’s
willingness to help by spending as much time
with “real-world” professionals as possible as an
employee, intern or volunteer.
“I tell students that every opportunity they
have to learn from the real world, take it,” Bryant
said. “And, if you see a professional that is doing
what you admire, don’t be afraid to ask for their
telephone number to call them later to ask them
questions and get their advice. Nine times out of
10, they want to help.”
She enjoys mentoring and working with students because of their optimism and drive.
“They want to be change agents, and they believe
that they can make the world better,” Bryant said.
Her professional career thus far shows the value of acting on such ideals.
M eet J ulie B ryant
Why she has a fondness for horses:
Bryant’s father grew up on ranches in northeast
Oklahoma and bought her a horse after the family moved to 1.3 acres on the outskirts of Lubbock. “I’m like every little girl in the country who
wanted a horse,” she said.
Influential university experiences:
Bryant recalls three pivotal experiences that played
into her personal and professional development.
First: Playing trumpet in the Goin’ Band From
Raiderland, giving her a smaller community of
friends within the large Texas Tech campus. Band
director Keith Bearden allowed Bryant to continue in the band while she also fulfilled her duties
as ABC Rodeo queen.
Second: Hearing about the then relatively
new agricultural communications degree from
Masked Rider Kurt Harris and meeting with Dr.
Jerry Stockton to learn more and transfer to the
college.
Third: Being a member of the horse judging
team, under the direction of Dr. Jim Heird, who
is now associate dean and director of teaching
and outreach for the Equine Center in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State
University. “It (the horse judging team) makes
you think logically about what you believe and
then speak about it effectively,” said Bryant. She
also admires how Dr. Heird tapped into the different strengths of the students to build a cohesive, successful team that missed winning the
1983 national championship by one point.
Family: Julie and her husband, Steve Bryant,
have three children: Katheryn Bryant, 16; Daniel
Bryant, 15; and Savannah Kimball, 13. Steve is a
firefighter in Duncanville.
Free-time activities:
Bryant’s spare time is filled with the children’s
band, sports and other school-related events. She
and Steve also are members of New River Fellowship church in Aledo, where they lead a Wednesday evening class.
The value of networking:
Bryant easily recalls the names of people she
has met over the years. “Her contacts in the agricultural business arena are as deep as anyone
I know,” said Patti Colbert, executive director of
the Mustang Heritage Foundation.
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